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Jade
Jade began life as Carol Morgana, A officer aboard a P.T.D battle-cruiser. After her life was saved by the first 'modern' Crusader Fredrick however, she was inspired to attempt to follow in his footsteps. Sadly, this resulted in her falling in with the Father, leader of the Samaratins, and serving as one of his pawns for the next several centuries. Despite this, Jade (Having changed her name) still emulated the Crusaders, wearing there trademark hat and coat and doing her best to act heroically when possible. Eventually, after Alastor killed the Father and retired from his post as Crusader, Jade proudly took on the role as the seventh Crusader. Back to index Biography Two years after she joined the Crusaders, Jade learned that a expedition on the frozen, star sized, planetoid Janrek was attempting to secure an ancient Crusader "Portal" for a mysterious backer. After a brief engagement, Jade discovered that the backer was the Heretic Queen, who had survived for decades in suspended animation. Despite Jade's efforts, the Queen escaped through the portal to the other side of the Galaxy, with Jade forced to destroy the portal to keep the Confederacy (Who were rapidly expanding and had claimed Janrek as there own) from seizing it. During this time, Jade also discovered and was caught up in the inner conflict of the Sun Cult, which had survived the War Droid Empire's destruction but had now splintered into civil war. Jade threw her support behind the "rightful" Lord and traditionalists against the more aggressive and violent rebels, finally ending the centuries long rift between the Crusaders and Sun Cult and gaining Jade some permanent allies. After the events on Janrek, Jade was contacted by the agents of "Jysell", a shadowy and powerful person/group/force working behind the scenes in the Confederacy"Jysell" was in the process of building a national army for the Confederacy and ever expanding it's borders and was interested in hiring the Crusaders services, which Jade eventually excepted, despite having a very strained relationship with "Jysell's" main representatives as well as Garm Rene, the leader of the newly formed Crusader Shock Troopers who had clashed (and SHOT) Jade on a previous occasion. At around this same time, Jade also confronts an old rival which she had dubbed "Morgan", a shadowy Antihero. Despite a lengthy chase between the two, Morgan manages to escape once again. However, "Jysell" and the Confederacy finally went to far when they attempted to launch a covert invasion of the Herglic Kingdom. Unwilling to allow the increasingly powerful and villainous Confederacy slaughter the Herglics, Jade leaked the invasion plans to the Herglics who routed the invasion fleet and forced the Confederacy to sue for peace. Although the Confederacy was practically destroyed by the political ramifications, a vengeful "Jysell" (Who had actually gained almost complete power over the much diminished confederacy) still sent a small fleet to capture the Crusader. However, with the Sun Cult all but wiped out, the Confederacy in shambles, Garm Rene dead in the crossfire and the Crusaders now bearing the reputation of "traitors", Jade decided pursue the Heretic Queen, setting off for the other side of the Galaxy. One year later, Jade arrived in the far flung Nieth Sector, still following the Heretic Queens single. However, the Eniola was immediately captured by the "The Herald", a massive, sentient spaceship. Jade was brutally "experimented" on (Including the removal of her connection to the supernatural) before being dropped off on a nearby, mostly deserted world. There, Jade ran across the stranded mercenary pilot Trent, the two deciding to work together in order to survive. Eventually, they recovered Jade's ship and Trent briefed the Crusader on the situation in the Nieth Sector: Not only had the Herald (As well as it's clone interfaces, whom Jade dubbed "Harold's") placed the entire area under it's rule of fear, but a local group known as "The Peoples Union" had reacted by putting as many systems and people under there totalitarian control. Setting off together, Jade and Trent searched for a way to destroy the Herald while simultaneously dealing with Jade's loss of power. The next big step for Jade was when, under the influence of rare pheromones, she finally discovered the identity of her long held nemesis, Morgan. During her time as a servant of the Father, Jade had been forced to commit acts that had shattered her mind. This had resulted in a dark alternate personality, willing to go to any lengths and do anything necessary to achieve her goals. The realization of this dark splintering of her mind and personality was quickly added on to when Jade and Trent were joined by two new additions to there rag tag crew: Abel, a local hero who had been disillusioned by his failure to save the Bel'ovin home world, and River, the last surviving Bel'ovin and there former queen. Still struggling with Morgan, Jade failed to properly defend her team when Union solders, pegging the Crusader as just a much a threat as the Herald, attacked the crew of the Eniola when they were planet-side. Unable to contend with her attackers and upon seeing Trent shot and killed, Jade gave in and allowed Morgan to take over her body. Finally given full control, and still possessing her supernatural skill, Morgan effortlessly slaughtered the Union troopers before immediately going back to plotting the downfall of the Herald, only reluctantly taking Abel and River along. Although Morgan was undoubtedly effective, Morgan was unable to do any true damage to either the Herald or the Union and was ultimately captured by the former once again. However, having learned from her own experience, Morgan managed to convince Jade to work together with her in the midst of the Herald's torture, leading to Jade regaining her powers (And body), apparently destroying the Herald (With the help of River & Abel) and escaping, although the Eniola was destroyed in the process. Jade was not allowed to rest for long, as she was almost immediately approached by Morgan with an offer to share there body. Before the two personalities could work something out, the Crusader finally discovered the location of the Heretic Queen. After a brief confrontation, Jade learned that the Queen had came to the Nieth Sector in search of a Heretic Colony (Which turned out to be a primitive pre-space flight civilization) but had instead refocused herself on discerning the true nature of the Herald. The Queen, however,was only able to warn Jade that the Herald was nothing more than an advanced scout before she was captured by a severely damaged but still surviving Herald. Finally, the Heretic Queen sacrificed herself to destroy the Herald in a burst of magical energy. Not long afterwards, before Jade/Morgan, Abel and River can turn there attention to the Peoples Union, they were drawn to a second Crusader portal. There they were greeted by Alastor, who informed them that Jade was required back on the other side of the Galaxy. As the previous Crusader explained, the basin of Galactic Civilization was unknowingly in danger. The Herald, for all its might, was merely an advanced warning system of sorts for an even larger threat that had previously been encountered by Ixil on his attempt to discover another Galaxy. A massive, unknown..."Thing" was waiting in the void of space. Simply known as The Cube, this unknown had been appearing in the dreams of powerful psychics, was slowly opening a rift near Imperial Collective Space and had an unknown connection with the Box. With the other galactic powers refusing to help or believe them, Alastor set about preparing the defense of the Collective, while Jade and a small party traveled to the abandoned Yancor battle station. There, they not only discovered the link between the Box and Cube (The former were castoff servants of the latter) but also found a resurrected Trent, painfully brought back to life and turned into a superhuman cyborg. Escaping the station, Jade and the others arrive back at the Collective just in time for the climax. Cube, a Light Years long sentient starship, had arrived through the rift, with the intent of destroying all organic life. However, Alastor managed to access the self destruct mechanism for the artificially created Imperial Collective star systems, "Killing" Cube (Although leaving it's "corpse" behind) in the massive resulting explosion but apparently dying in the process. However, this was far from the end of Jade's time as a Crusader. Immediately afterwards, Jade was presented with the problem of relocating the Collective, there home being thoroughly destroyed. This was complicated not only by the vengeful Confederacy (Primarily there feared Shock Troopers) but also the increasingly aggressive and expansionist Shadow-men. Things improved slightly when the Imperial Collective were able to make a home out of the shell of Cube, and later when a reformed Sun Cult asserted its support of the Crusader, but took a decided turn for the worse when it was discovered the M/W, long since forgotten in the grand scheme of interstellar events, was playing a game as long as anyone. The shady priests had been spreading there namesake doctrine ("Morgans Way") to pre-space flight planets, to the point they had a controlling influence on hundreds of worlds. This was not helped when the M/W issued a warrant for Jade's life (For discovering this long held secret) and when it was discovered the Paladins, long time allies of the Crusaders, were merely another, more public, branch of Morgans Way, leading to them joining in the attempts to destroy the Crusader. In response, Jade/Morgan (Now sharing equal time in there body) lead the Skia (Shadow-men/Keerd for "Shadow") underground, where they could slowly undermine the M/W and simultaneously prepare to stop the inevitable Shadow-men attack on the other interstellar powers. Now operating out of a second Eniola class ship (Alastor's last construct), Jade and her allies continued there heroics, including a break out of a Terrorist prison (Which, unknown to them, freed G.i.p in the process). At this time, Jade was contacted by the spirits of the previous Crusaders, who informed her that she and the Skia would be the last of there kind and that a showdown with an ancient enemy would claim her life. With this in mind, she began taking her and her friends even deeper into the shadows, hoping to avoid this final Battle. She was forced to choose between survival and duty, however, when G.i.p allied with the M/W to locate a legendary fulcrum of ancient Crusader knowledge, known as The Nexus, which was also said to include a fleet of warships and another portal. Jade eventually decided the fate of the Galaxy outweighed that of her own, and on a abandoned planet at the edge of the civilized galaxy the long running history of the Reborn Crusaders culminated. Initially, the Skia faced an uphill battle in the halls of an ancient Crusader installation against a veritable army of M/W followers. The arrival of Confederate shock troopers, personally lead by Jysell and with the orders to destroy both sides, did little to improve there chances. However, a armada of Shadow-men arrived not long after and provided a sufficient distraction to allow Jade to personally confront G.i.p in the very room that housed the new portal. Jade desperately tried to talk the mercenary down, but she refused and activated the portal (Reviled to be a experimental time travel device), leaping through with the intent of killing Fredrick before he could even create the Crusaders. However, Jade & Morgan, finally in complete harmony, join with the controls of the Planet (Which was artificial, just like the planets of the Collective) and send her into the last days of the war between the Conquerors and Kanos instead, where she presumably perished alongside the other combatants. In her last moments, the seventh Crusader activated the Crusaders fleet, allowing the other Skia to escape the planet, seconds before the Shadow-men destroyed it. Jysell (Reviled to also be the founder of the Peoples Union) had achieved there dream of galactic war however, as the Confederacy, Shadow-men and other Interstellar powers prepare for open war, with no Crusader to stop them. They are stopped dead, however, by the arrival of a full blown armada of Crusaders. Contacted by the fleets activation, the Crusaders of old, now a charter member of the Multiversal Demarchy, arrived and quickly put an end to the war. The Skia, in memory of their apparently fallen comrade, joined the Crusaders and dedicated their service in the memory of both Jade and Morgan. Odds & Ends Jade was a female member of an unknown Humanoid species. Despite being centuries old, Jade still appeared as if she was in her late twenties, likely having something to do with her time spent with the Samaritans. Described as "beautiful", Jade was of slim build, with light brown skin and emerald green eyes. Although she was somewhat notorious for being the physically "weakest" Crusader, Jade could still contend with fully armored warriors and was fast/agile enough to outpace most attacks, even that of firearms. However, it was true that Jade was not nearly as strong or tough as her predecessors. Although it was also name that (comparatively) her accuracy also left much to be desired, Jade was an absolute MASTER of stealth tactics, allowing her to most often completely avoid engagements at all, breaking in and out of even the most secure facilities with ease. Although not nearly as well equipped as her immediate predecessor, Jade was still skilled with and often equipped with a wide variety of firearms, blades, power armor, explosives and energy weapons. Perhaps Jade's greatest advantage was the Eniola,a custom built ship created by Alastor originally intended for his own use, but later passed on to Jade. "The fastest ship in the Universe" the Jade's engines and stealth systems were significant steps up from previous Crusader vessels. Although she wielded a single, light red/pink bladed PhaseBlade while serving under the Father, as a Crusader, Jade preferred the use of two blue bladed weapons. Both weapons hilts were made out of a rare type of tough-as-steel wood, which Jade claimed gave her a greater connection with them. While a servant of the Samaritans, Jade was a capable duelist, if not a top tier. She capably held her own against Alastor, capably trained two deadly twin sister mercenaries, outmaneuvered Grace and Tam (separately) and even survived face to face with a VERY ticked off Samantha, who was in the process of single handedly wiping out the Samaritans. As a Crusader, Jade chose to specialize in the use of two blades, almost to the point of over-reliance: She could still take part in duels with only one weapon (albeit less effectively) but she had a great deal of trouble in wider battlefield situations, as she had come to rely on the second blade for blast deflection. Although she hasn't been involved in very many duels as a Crusader (Or as a Samaritan servant for that matter) it was shown that Jade was a more capable duelist than ANY member of the Sun Cult (Possibly save for the respective factions leaders), a group that placed a heavy focus on martial arts and combat skills. Unlike most Crusaders, Jade would also set aside her distinctive long coat for the more imperative stealth missions and full scale battlefield engagements. LIKE other Crusaders, Jade has already proven herself to be, for all practical purposes, a one woman army, taking on hundreds of ground troopers at once, albeit using every advantage she had to come out alive. Having spent centuries refining her magic (and stealth) Jade was an absolute master of the arcane and supernatural. Although she had barely any natural skill with such powers, hundreds of years spent exploring the Netherealms has advanced Jade to being on par with even the greatest casters. On a most basic level, Jade's telekinesis was powerful enough to smash through hull armor or send entire squads of commands flying, while also precise enough affect items dozens of meters away or insect sized machinery. At her highest levels, Jade could telekineticly "fly", an ability that was beyond practically anyone but Lunia (And probably Kanos). When it came to energy, Jade could produce lethal bolts of energy and absorb even blasts from a capital ship's main cannon, although the effort it took was nearly fatal for her. She applied these abilities with as much refinement as her telekinesis. Although she had no other demonstrated elemental powers, Jade was a practiced hand at pyrokinesis, using it often and to great effect, cowing entire enemy forces into submission, or setting them a-flame. Although (as of yet) Jade hasn't shown any abilities beyond these, it should be remembered , she spent CENTURIES developing her skill and knowledge of the supernatural, meaning she likely has more than a few tricks left up her sleeve. In short, Jade was first and foremost a "spell caster", her comparatively limited amount of abilities still being more than enough to allow Jade to hold her own against entire armies and even the most skilled enemies. The last notable aspect of Jade was a red tattoo on the back of her right hand. Although the Heretic Queen has hinted the mark is closely tied to "The Nexus", it's true meaning is currently unknown. Authors Notes Jade & Morgan together are the last Crusader to be covered in the “Delta” Continuity. As such, they were used to tie up as many loose ends as possible in the series before the Author moved on too yet another new project. However, she/they also had plenty of time to develop there own character and personality. Jade herself normally shows up in alternate realities with relatively few changes. Morgan, however, is prone to significant changes. She will appear as an alter ego to Jade (As in Delta), an outside force possessing or dwelling within her, or as a completely different character, such as a sister or rival. Whichever the case, wherever Jade exists, Morgan's not far off. Jade's skill level did not change much upon becoming a Crusader, as she had already had centuries to develop and hone her abilities. However, the distinct difference between Jade and Morgan is most evident in there fighting styles. Jade fought in a graceful manner, evading her enemies, deflecting there attacks and ultimately resorting to her mastery of the supernatural to overcome her foes. Morgan, meanwhile, was blunt, straight forwards and powerful. She preferred direct combat, physically subduing or even killing, and put more focus on combat skill and dueling, lacking Jade's near unlimited magical ability. At only one inch taller than Ixil, Jade/Morgan was the second shortest of the Modern Crusaders. Regardless of which personality was currently in command, her physical appearance remained the same: Light brown skin, piercing blue eyes and jet black hair. Morgan did, however, prefer to apply a blood red mark over her right eye when she had the chance. Like Kanos, both Jade and Morgan preferred black Trench coats and hats over the more traditional brown, while they were both unusually willing to set the coat aside when they felt it was unpractical. Morgan/Jade's left hand also sported a distinctive red mark, earned when the Nexus branded and saved her when she crashed on its planet centuries prior to becoming a Crusader. Unlike Jade, Morgan preferred ranged weapons and a single blade to the formers dual wielding and mystical abilities. Fundamentally, although both are lax to admit it, Jade and Morgan are the same being, with their personality broken in two. Jade, the dominant half, was much more sensitive and heroic, although she was also more prone to despair. Morgan was the polar opposite, having been created by the Father to accomplish the tasks Jade was unwilling to have a hand in. She was much more cynical and rude, as well as willing to employ scorched Earth policies. Together, Jade/Morgan was hardened by her many experiences and long life, but remained brightly optimistic. Although they initially despised each-other, both eventually realized the necessity of the other, coming to coexist in harmony. That being said, the individual halves existed separately in the Limbo, indicating that there was a greater difference than just personality. Before and even after they became a Crusader, Jade/Morgan (Especially the former) practically hero worshiped there predecessors in the role of Crusader. Although they acknowledged there flaws, they remained adamant that there influence in history was overwhelmingly positive. For there part, they considered Jade/Morgan to be a more than worthy replacement, encouraging and aiding her whenever possible. Although officially dying at Nexus, it has been revealed that Jade miraculously survived, reconciling her two selves and embarking for parts unknown. Although she supposedly died before she could personally place a keepsake in the halls of Serd, the Skia added Jade's hat and coat to it's exhibits of Crusaders, honoring there fallen friend.